1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an improved system and method for molding a snack chip and, in particular, to a system and method for molding a scoop-shaped snack chip. The system and method allows a shaped snack chips to be molded at a relatively high production rate while producing a substantially uniform product.
2. Description of Related Art
Snack chips and other food products are frequently made to assume a desired shape. Often, these shapes are merely ornamental in design to assume an interesting shape that appeals to consumers. Sometimes, snack product shapes assume a utilitarian function. One such function is to retain liquid mixtures such as dip, salsa, bean dip, cheese dip, and the like.
When a consumer chooses to eat a chip with dip, the consumer typically holds a single chip and immerses a portion of the chip into the dip. The consumer then transfers the dipped chip to his mouth for eating. Often though, the desired quantity of dip fails to adhere sufficiently to the chip or is lost during the transfer process. This problem is particularly noticeable when the chip is flat or relatively flat. Additionally, round or triangular flat chips are often too large to insert into a jar or fail to retain a sufficient quantity of dip on the chip surface during removal of the chip from the jar. With traditional chips, some are too large to consume in one bite. When this occurs, the dip on the uneaten portion of the chip frequently slides off creating a mess and a dissatisfied consumer.
To help retain dip, snack chips have been made with curved surfaces. Shaped snack chips allow the consumer to scoop up a desired portion of dip without losing a significant quantity during transfer to the mouth for eating. Further, shaped chips are more maneuverable for insertion into ajar or can of packaged dip such as salsa. The utilitarian shapes known include for example ridges, scoops, taco-shaped, spoon-shaped, and bowl-shaped. Of these, a bowl-shaped chip is particularly desirable as it has a retaining wall or edge surrounding the entirety of the chip.
The process for making a shaped chip, especially a bowl-shaped chip, is more complex as compared to traditional flat chip manufacturing processes. With traditional chip production, the dough or masa is extruded or sheeted into a desired chip shape. The shaped chips are toasted to add some stiffness prior to frying. To equilibrate moisture, the toasted chips are passed through a proofing stage. After proofing, the chips are transferred to a fryer for dehydration of the product for consumer packaging. As the chips have a relatively flat shape, no shaping systems are needed or required after the chips are extruded or sheeted.
For making a shaped snack chip, an alternative process is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,939 to Fink et al. A form fryer produces a shaped snack chip by placing chips into a bowl-shaped mold cavity and frying the chip therein. Form frying however requires a specialized dedicated fryer where a fryer is manufactured specifically to handle the molds. A fryer such as this is more complex and has a relatively lower manufacturing capacity compared to a free fryer. A stream of hot oil is used to retain chips in the molds. A cascading oil assists in maintaining the chips in proper position. With this process, a higher oil quality is needed because the oil turnover rate is longer than the typical frying process which causes increased oil degradation over time. A higher oil quantity extends the shelf life and improves flavor of the finished chips
Consequently, a system and method for forming a shaped snack chip that can operate at a high production capacity is desired. Such a system and method should be capable of producing shaped snack chips while keeping the costs associated with the chip manufacturing equipment and production with industry standards.
The present invention is an improved system and method for molding a shaped snack product such as bowl-shaped tortilla chips. The invention utilizes a sheeter for forming a sheet of dough (masa) into pieces that is fed to a toaster via a conveyor. The essentially flat shaped pieces, which for example could be hexagonal shaped pieces, are fed into one or more high temperature toasting ovens to add rigidity to the chips for the steps to follow. After toasting, the partially dried chip is conveyed to a piece alignment system. The piece alignment system aligns the chips prior to a plunger and mold conveyor system, which provides shape to the chips. The piece alignment system comprises a series of belts whereby the ranks (rows) of chips can be adjusted for proper placement for the plunger and mold conveyor. After the product is plunged in the mold conveyor, the chips pass through at least one oven for reducing chip moisture and providing additional rigidity for frying. Thereafter, the chips are ejected from the molds and are inputted into a fryer where the chips attain their final packaging moisture. Following frying, the chips are passed through an optional salter where salt and/or flavoring is added. The chips are then passed along for packaging for consumers. Particularly, the system and method are designed to have a high production rate while avoiding the use of rate limiting equipment. The above as well as additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following written detailed description.